Sunday, March 18, 2012

Vegan Peanut Chili with Charred Corn and Avocado Salsa

This chili gets depth from a multitude of sources: smoky chipotle chili powder, soy sauce, and espresso. The texture, which so many vegetarian chilis lack, comes from chopped peanuts. This also adds a nice touch of protein to the dish. I got the idea for this chili while Andrew Adams and I were brainstorming ideas for the Farmer Mixer. I wanted to do a kim chi dumpling, and he thought it'd be cool to use peanuts as the protein like they do in a soup at The Brushmark. It was a perfect marriage.

The Charred Corn and Avocado Salsa is the perfect thing to cool you down as you chow on this spicy chili. Try it on its own for a quick appetizer at a party, or add fresh, chopped jalapeño to give the salsa a little kick.

In a Dutch oven or heavy soup pot over medium-high heat add the olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cook for five minutes or until onion is translucent. Add the ancho chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and chipotle chili powder. Stir to incorporate the spices then deglaze the pot with the wine or beer. Allow the mixture to reduce until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the green peppers, soy sauce, espresso, worcestershire, peanuts, tomatoes, vegetable stock, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, and pinto beans to the mix. Stir and bring up to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow chili to cook for an hour and a half or until beans are tender. To serve add 1/2 cup of rice to a bowl followed by a ladleful of the Peanut Chili. Top with 1/2 cup Charred corn and Avocado Salsa.

Over a high flame on your outdoor grill car the ears of con until lightly blackened. This will take four minutes per side. Cut the corn away from the cob using a sharp knife and plenty of caution. In a medium bowl combine the corn, avocado, lime juice, cilantro, green onion, olive oil. Add sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste. Set aside until ready to serve.

5 comments:

YUM! I love the taste and texture of boiled peanuts-- and I've never had them in any other form except as an appetizer. This looks amazing, and I love that you charred your corn. I'm a big fan of blackened corn.

Wow! That salsa looks so nice; I am so going to try it out next time I make chilli :) I had boiled peanuts only yesterday; they are somewhat unusual, and I first had them in India.I soak them a while then boil in a pressure cooker. If you wait long enough, they will become soft like beans. I just add a little salt and black pepper and eat them as they are, as a protein-rich side.

It's fabulous! But I wish I'd pre soaked the beans. Tried to do the day of boil and soak and ended up w another 4 hours cook time. Also haven't done the grilled corn salsa because its below zero up here. Had a corn muffin instead! The take home story is you have a great palate!